LABOR leader Bill Shorten has announced his party will put $3.1 million into Rockhampton’s world-famous Beef Australia Week if elected.
Mr Shorten made the announcement today in Rockhampton with local Labor Capricornia candidate Leisa Neaton on day four of the 2016 federal election campaign.
The Opposition leader said Beef Australia Week would be secured by his government’s $3.1m investment.
“Beef Australia Week is a unique celebration of Australian industry and showcases the Rockhampton region to an international audience,” he said.
“Importantly, Beef Australia Week also facilitates new trade and export opportunities for the Australian beef industry and promotes local businesses.
“Labor’s commitment will contribute to funding Beef Australia Week 2018 and establish the federal government as a principal partner.”
Mr Shorten said the signature event attracted a record 90,000 people through the gates last year and 1100 registered international delegates from more than 40 countries in attendance.
He said the Turnbull government had talked about the importance of the event but was “yet to commit a dollar of much-needed funding to ensuring the event continues”.
“The success of Beef Week 2018 will cement Rockhampton’s reputation as the beef capital of Australia,” he said.
“This $3.1m investment continues Labor’s support for the region, recognising that trade and tourism are critical for Rockhampton’s future.”
At the 2013 election, the Coalition government promised to commit $2.5m for the iconic beef event in Rockhampton and delivered $2.75m with GST.
A spokesperson for Nationals leader and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said the coalition had a strong track record of backing Beef Australia Week.
The spokesperson said the Coalition would make announcements progressively during the election campaign, on funding and policy priorities for central Queensland.
Mr Shorten said Australia had remarkable efficient productive, world beating and export driven farmers.
“The beef industry in Australia should be a source of national pride – we are globally competitive, we are distinguished in terms of the ranks of what we can do with our beef cattle,” he said.
Mr Shorten said the $3.1m investment showed Labor was putting regional Australia first; from child education through to important events that kept important towns like Rockhampton on the national and international stage.
National Party MP Michelle Landry won the seat of Capricornia from Labor at the 2013 federal election and holds it by a slender margin of 0.8 per cent.
In response to today’s announcement, Ms Landry rejected Mr Shorten’s assertion that the Labor party was putting regional Australia and farmers first.
She said she’d worked hard to represent every sector of her community, from sugar cane growers, through to cattle producers, fishermen and miners but “Labor have forgotten their roots”.
“They obviously once supported the workers but for my observations they are now beholden to the latte sipping Greens and they just don’t seem to really care about regional Australia,” she said.
“Labor really doesn’t understand agriculture - there’s more to agriculture than just a donation to Beef Week - you need to get out into the communities and talk to the farming communities.
“With the downturn we’ve had with mining I think agriculture is going to be extremely important to central Queensland (but) I don’t think Labor really understands the agriculture sector.
“They need to get themselves out west and see what’s actually happening.”
Ms Landry said Mr Joyce had visited her region several times to look at water infrastructure projects and she had also made a submission to ensure funding continued for the next Beef Week event.